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West Ham like the long ball, says Martial

Anthony Martial says Manchester United will have to be braced for an aerial bombardment from West Ham when the two sides meet in their FA Cup quarter-final replay on Wednesday night.

The France forward is well aware of the Hammers’ willingness to hit their forwards with long balls and he concedes they will have to defend well if they are to reach the semi-finals at Upton Park.

Martial told MUTV: “West Ham are a difficult side to play against. They play a lot of long balls up to their frontmen, so we have to make sure we defend well against that and then our forwards can do the rest. If we play well, there’s no reason why we can’t win.”

France forward Martial scored for United in the initial Cup meeting between the teams last month, cancelling out his friend Dimitri Payet’s brilliant free-kick.

The 20-year-old has spoken about his friendship with West Ham playmaker Payet, who he recently linked up with during the international break with France.

“Payet just came here this season and he’s really impressed everyone, but I was already aware of the ability he had, given that he used to play in the French league and he’s also a mate of mine,” added Martial.